Ash-sifter.



A, P. STAPLES.

ASH SIFIEB.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 191a.

Patented Aug. 25, 1914.

wa bmt I above any ashes thereon.

ALBERT F. STAPLES, 0F DORCHESTER. MASSACHUSETTS.

ASH-SIFTER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug; 25 191.1.

Applicationfiled Jirlv 5,1913. Serial No. 777; 37.

that it maybe used in the manner of a shovel, to receive and raise a body of ashes to besifted. c

The object of the invention is to produce an ash-Sifter of, simple and convenient form, in which. the ashesfrom a furnace may be sifted within the ash-pit of a fur nace, so that all of the dust resulting from the sifting operation is retained within the furnace and carried, away by the draft thereof, while only thecinders are withdrawn from the ash-pit and discharged from the sifter. employ, in connectionwith the foiaininous body of my sitter, a pivotally mounted de y -vice at the forward end of the body, such as has been employed in previously proposed constructions, for the alternative purposes of forming alip to facilitate the admission of ashes to the body,and an endelosure to retain the ashes therein during the sifting operation. In addition to these parts. however, and to adapt my device to the particular mode of operation for which it is designed, I employ supporting members or legs, which are manually movable into operative or inoperative position, and wlnch,when in operative position, proyect entirely below the body of the sitter, so

that they may rest upon the grating :or floorsurface of the ash-pit, and support the foraminous body above such surface and I further omit any such imperforate bottom-member as has been proposed inprevious constructions, so that the ashes sifted through the foraminous body may fall directly to the floor-surface of the ash-pit.

By the novel construction and arrangement of parts above described, I produce asifter which may be introduced into the ash pit of the furnace in the manner of a shovel. being thereby filled with ashes, and which may then be manipulated to raise it clear of the bottom of the ash-pit and support it To the foregoing end I:

in that position, while it is shaken in' a horizontal direction, thus sitting out the inc ashes before witl'nilrawing the sitter from the ash-pit. theseashes remaining within the ash-pit. and the dust being carricd away by the draft therein.

in the accompanying drawim l is a perspective view of an ash-Sifter cmhcdving the present invention, SliOWillg the parts in their normal position; and Fig. "l is a si(leelevation. partly in vertical sceticn. showing the end-wall in the closed po sition which it occupies during the sitting operation.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a sitter having an elongated handle 22' of which the rcar-end is cleft to provide two bifurcations 4 between whicha transverse grip I is fixed. I,

The body of the sitfterhas a frame-work of heavy wire, thisframe-work comprising substantially parallel, wires (3; which support the upper edgeof the body, and three substantially parallel wires 7, 8 and 9 at the lower surface ofthe body. .'lhe'tv.'o wires 6 are shown as formed ofa single .rontinnous length. and. the wires 7 and 8 are similarly formed. all of these .w-ircs, at their rearmost doubled portions, 'hein; embraced and fixed within a sleeve 10 which is attached to the forward end of the handle 3.-

The 'rear end of the wire 9 is seated between the other wires and also embraced within the sleeve. thus providing a-simple and rigid connection between the wires and the handle.

\Viremetting ll suitably fro-med to rest upon the wires 7, S and d is attached. at its upper edges. to the wires 6. .while the forward edge of the netting is attached to a transverse sheet-metal member 12. This member is bent upwardly, at'its ends, to

embrace the forward ends of the wires (3. while the forward ends of the wires 7, S and 9 are looped through openings in the memher 12, as clearly shown in the drawings. As the wires 7, 8 and 9 are located entirely beneath the wire-netting they provide surfaces upon which the ash-sifter may slide so as to relieve the netting from friction and wear. i i

A movable end-wall is provided, in the form of a sheet-metal member 13 which is pivoted to the forward edge of the member 12. For the purpose of so connecting these parts they are provided with integral hingesleeves 14 embracing a pivot-rod 15. In the normal position of the parts, as shown in Fig. 1, the wall 13 lies in the same plane as the part 12, so as to form a lip at the torward end of the body which may be readily introduced into or beneath a body of ashes to permit the sitter to act in the manner of a scoop or shovel. The member 13 is bent upwardly at its ends to provide integral. side-walls 16, which have portions 17 extending to some distance in the rear.

A yoke-shaped rod 18 is pivoted, at its torwm'd ends, to the sidewalls 16, and is supported, at its rear central portion 19, within an eye 20 projecting downwardly from the handle, being free to slide therein. A rod 21 is looped, at its forward end, into the part 19 ot the rod 18, while its rear end is looped into a downwardly-projecting arm 22 of an operating-lever. This lever is mounted on a transverse pivot 23 in the bifurcated portion of the handle, and it has a rearwardly-projecting arm 24 which may be conveniently grasped together with the grip 5. \Vhen the lever is so grasped and is drawn upwardly into a position adjacent the grip 5, as shown in Fig. 2, the swinging movement of the lever causes the rods 21 and 18 to be drawn rearwardly, thus swinging the end-wall 13 upwardly into vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, and so closing the forward end of the sitter. At the same time the projections 17 are swung into depending position, so that they project to a substantial distance below the bottom of the body. The end-wall is normally retained in depressed position by a spring 25, which is coiled around the rod 15 and has ends engaging the parts 12 and 13 respectively.

The sitter just described is uscd as follows: \Vith the parts in the position of Fig. 1, the user introduces the sitter beneath a body of ashes within any receptacle, such as the ash-pit of a furnace, thus filling the sitter with ashes. He then moves the operatinglever to close the forward end of the sitter and bring the parts to the position of Fig. 2. The projections 17 then project downwardly so as to provide legs by which the weight of the body may be supported upon the bottom of theash-pit, and the user then shakes the sitter longitudinally, thus shaking out the finer ashes while the cinders are retained within the body by the closed end-wall. During this operation all of the dust which rises is retained within the ashpit and carried away by the draft of the furnace. After the sitting operation is completed the user withdraws the sitter from the ash-pit and swings the operating-lever downwardly so as to open. the end-wall to normal position, and the cinders may then be discharged from the sitter in the same manner as from an ordinary shovel or scoop.

My invention is not limited to the embodiment thereof hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it may be embodied in various other forms within the nature of the invention as it is defined in the following claims.

I claim 1. An ash-sitter comprising a toraininous, shovellilre body provided with an elongated handle; a plurality of laterally separated, narrow supporting-members movably attached to the body near its forward end; and manually-operable means, extending to a point of convenient accessibility on the handle, tor raising and lowering the supporting-members with respect to the body, said members, when lowered, extending to a substantial distance below all other parts of the sitter so that they may engage a floorsurface and support the body at a sufiicient distance above such surface to clear ashes discharged thereon through the body, and said supporting-members being movable to a raised position in which they permit the body to rest substantially flat upon the floorsurtace, to facilitate its use in the manner of. a shovel.

2. An ash-sitter having, in combination,

a handle; a foraminous shovel-like body rigidly supported on the handle; a-sheetmetal member pivoted, at one edge, to the forward edge of the body and bent, at its ends, to provide side-walls and supportingmeans extending beyond the side- ,walls; and manually-operable means tor swinging said member alternatively into position to provide a lip and side-walls for the forward end of the body, or an end-wall and supports for the body.-

ALBERT F. STAPLES. \Vitnesses CHARLES F. RICHARDSON, ELIZABETH F. UMAC. 

